Australian Olympian Dominique du Toit has made an emotional plea to the federal government to let her 85-year-old grandmother remain in the country, as the family struggles to secure care for the dementia-diagnosed woman who has no Medicare access.
Dominique, a two-time Olympian and NRLW player for the Cronulla Sharks, spoke through tears during a recent interview with A Current Affair, describing her grandmother Dawn as a proud and resilient woman who has become entirely dependent on family following a rapid decline in health.
“I’m very proud to call myself an Australian. It’s the greatest honour I’ve ever received, pulling on the Australian jersey and representing my country in Rugby 7s,” Dominique told A Current Affair. “I just really want those opportunities and that safety to be afforded to my granny.”
Dawn migrated from Zimbabwe to Australia 13 years ago on a sponsored aged parent visa after the death of her husband. Since then, she has been awaiting permanent residency. Despite lodging the application when she arrived, she still hasn’t been granted residency and is not eligible for Medicare.
That gap in access has had devastating consequences. Recently diagnosed with dementia and following a serious fall that left her with a broken hip and both elbows, Dawn now requires full-time care. Her daughter Christy, Dominique’s mum, had found a place for her in an aged care home on the Sunshine Coast, only to be blindsided by the cost.
“We were told it would be $78 a day,” Christy said. “Then the billing department called and said, ‘Are you aware that it’s $1250 a day?’ When I asked why, they said that’s the price for someone without a Medicare card.”
Christy has spent months contacting government agencies including Aged Care Australia, Medicare, Centrelink and the Department of Home Affairs, but says she has hit wall after wall. “No one has been able to help us get mum settled somewhere. There’s just no answer.”
The bill for Dawn’s care is rapidly mounting, and the family has yet to find a more affordable alternative. “This is my last option,” Christy said. “I have no other road.”
Dawn has lived with her only family in Australia for more than a decade. Christy describes her mother’s life as one marked by hardship, having been raised in an orphanage and surviving the economic collapse in Zimbabwe before migrating for a better future.
“We had to hide our money in toothpaste tubes and the lining of our suitcases to get out,” Christy told A Current Affair. “Australia gave us a future we never could have had.”
Dominique echoed the sentiment, explaining she was just four or five years old when the family moved. “I don’t remember much of Zimbabwe. Australia has been my only real home.”
Now the family is calling on the government to step in and allow Dawn to stay and receive the care she needs.
“She has no one in this world except us here in Australia,” Christy said. “Mum’s not going anywhere. She’s got nowhere to go.”
The Department of Home Affairs issued a statement to A Current Affair, saying it could not comment on individual cases but noted all non-citizens applying for visas are considered on a case-by-case basis in line with migration law.
For Dominique, it’s a race against time. “All we need is a home where she can get the care that she needs without a Medicare card until that permanent residency hopefully does come through,” she said.
“I really need that card. I really need it,” Dawn said tearfully.
